How was it? I heard there were no vocab and analogy questions in the UPCAT this time around. I hope that it never entered your mind that our sessions on vocab and verbal analogy were wasted, because I assure you, they’re not. Remember that there are still other CET’s/CAT’s where these may come in handy. Moreover, I believe that the tips I’ve given particularly in vocabulary will help in real life…now you know why it’s called a massacre, genocide, disparity, etc. Just dissect the words and the meaning of an unfamiliar word will suddenly unfold right before your very eyes.

Dear students, I’d like to tell you that when we Brain Train teachers tell you or make you feel like we are sincere in helping you, well, we really are. We are so passionate in teaching you to the point that even after a grueling day of a six to eight-hour classes, teaching tips are our dessert at the dining table. We English teachers calibrate our explanations on how to simplify teaching the dreaded verb tenses, our sundot banats, and even the sarcastic hirits. We want to teach you what is right so much to the point of letting go of our egos–we ask each other how better explain something (forget the fact that our colleague might look down on us) and share to one another everytime we have our eureka! moments (aka, a breakthrough on how to teach a concept that will surely be hammered into the students’ minds). The same goes for the math teachers. I remember one night when Sir Irvin, Sir Jet and Sir Enteng had a conference and shared to one another their tips and tricks in teaching math the fun and the easy way. Never mind the fact that they had dinner at around 9pm, and to add insult to the injury (of a rumbling stomach), the mosquitoes feasted on them. Again, this happened after a grueling 6-hour class day last summer. The same goes for the science teachers. Dr. Julius, in all his brilliance, had the humility to actually listen to Sir Randy on how to deliver gen. science and biology explanations…and, Doc Julius also listened to my suggestion to give the students the KUBA brain twister (yep, that was from me, handed down by the father of biology teaching at Brain Train, Prof. Jomar Ison).

Yes ladies and gentlemen, this is how seriously we take our tasks in mentoring. And if you appreciated it, good for you. If, last summer, you were like sponges who absorbed what we were relaying to you, I assure you that you are going to make it.

I’d like to thank everybody who did. You may not know it, but we appreciated every nod, every smile, every laughter and every kind word you had for us. These fuel our desire to be even better. I remember years ago, I was teaching the grammar handbook for 8 hours…on my last class, I told myself, “Ay bahala na, ide-deliver ko na lang ‘to as is, wala nang effort kasi pagod na pagod na ako.” My voice was strained (this was pre-amplifier era), my feet were aching (this was also pre-practical era…umaarte pa ako sa pagsusuot ng heels kahit alam kong sasakit ang paa ko) and I was doggone tired! BUt upon entering the room and seeing this one student who always looked intently listening to my every lecture, hindi ko kinaya. Even if it was only he who I’m sure appreciated my effort and really tried hard to learn from me (he was a grade 6 student from a not-so-good public school), I pushed myself to deliver my class well. I did not cut corners and still “performed”.

Dear students, let me have the gall to tell you that yoy were really blessed to have had us as your mentors for the UPCAT. Aside from that we were magnificent (aminin!), we were sincere. Actually, I believe that we were magnificent because we were sincere…sincerity came in first before the magnificence. Let this be a lesson to you too: to be magnificent in what you do, you have to love it first. When you are, your world will revolve around it and being magnificent on it will come naturally. 🙂